After a lukewarm reception on its initial release, Jacques Becker’s Le Trou has since garnered a considerable reputation and it now sits comfortably in the higher echelons with other works deemed ‘classic’. Endorsements from the likes of François Truffaut (“Becker’s best film”) and Jean-Pierre Melville (“the most beautiful French film”) do no harm to the film’s case and indicate the two captivating hours of cinema that await the spectator.